Vatican ex-envoy accused of sex abuse in Dominican Republic escapes Polish charges

Published December 30, 2016

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, papal nuncio for the Dominican Republic, in a March 2013 file photo. (ap)

A prosecutor says that Poland has suspended an investigation into the alleged sex abuse of minors in the Dominican Republic by a Polish-born former Vatican ambassador due to a lack of evidence.

Spokesman for Warsaw's regional prosecutor's office, Przemyslaw Nowak told The Associated Press Monday that despite Poland's request, Dominican investigators have not provided any documents or evidence concerning the allegations against Jozef Wesolowski, making proceeding impossible. The probe would continue when such materials are provided, he said.

Last summer the Vatican stripped its ex-ambassador Wesolowski of his diplomatic immunity and expelled him from the priesthood, after a Vatican canon law tribunal found him guilty of sexually abusing young boys in the Dominican Republic. Wesolowski is in confinement in the Vatican City, facing charges from a criminal tribunal there.

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